Patato - Potato - The Beats

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Thursday, April 11, 2019

Patato - Potato

Image Credit: Learning India

When I was in school we were a group of 10 friends, 5 girls and 5 boys, it was the end of 10th standard and we all decided to have a potluck. Each of us came from a different background, some of us from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra while some from Gujarat and Punjab. We all came from different places, spoke different languages, ate different kinds of food so we decided to bring those variety for our private farewell party. There are so many people I meet on a daily basis and not everyone is a Tamil Christian like me.

India is a diverse nation in terms of language, tradition, caste, food, religion and much more. People live in peace and harmony despite of the vast diversity. According to the census 2011 data, 79.80% of the Indian population are Hindus, 14.23% of the population are Muslims and 2.3% of the population are Christians, 1.72% are Sikhs, 0.7% are Jains and 0.9% of people belong to other religion. Amidst such diversity if studied closely many of the traditions practiced in these religions are similar.

If we look at the Hindu mythology, one theory believes that Parvati, Lord Shiva’s wife did not give birth to Lord Ganesha but made him out of the sandalwood paste on her body so that he could guard the door while she was having a bath. Ganesha was determined to not allow anyone inside and upon Lord Shiva’s arrival when he asked Ganesha to move, he did not budge. Shiva was filled with anger and he cut Ganesha’s head. Parvati was distraught, seeing this Shiva sent his people to get another child’s head which was facing north. And promised Parvati to bring him back to life. This was the story of how Ganesha came into this world.

 Now in Christianity, an angel named Gabriel came to Mary, a young woman from Nazareth who was engaged to Joseph at the time and told her that she will have a child and she should name him Jesus. Upon hearing this news, Joseph was very upset and angry. Angel Gabriel then visited him and told him that Mary will be having the Lords son and he will come into this world to save everyone from their sins.

If you closely observe, both the stories have many similarities. Both Ganesha and Jesus are sons of God and are born by divine intervention. Both the fathers are upset initially and then come to accept the sons as their own.

Ganesh Chaturti is the birthday of Ganesha and it is celebrated with colours, song, dance, food and much more. People bring Ganesha into their house and have a stapna pooja which is done to bless the idol for worship. A diya is always lit in front of the Ganesha idol from the time of stapna pooja till it is taken out for visarjan. An aarti is done twice a day. Many friends and family come to visit and even food is served in certain households. Ganesh Chaturthi, according to the almanac comes in the month of September. September 8th is the birthday of Mother Mary and Christians all over celebrate this day as a feast. Every church is divided into different zones and these zones are separated into different units. In the month of September, one statue of Mother Mary circulates around every house in the community(unit). This is considered as Mother Mary visiting every house like she visited her cousin Elizabeth. Many people from the community come to the house that Mother Mary is in and prayers are offered. The family who has Mary at home also say the Rosary throughout her stay with them in intervals. Many households serve a small snack or dinner, this differs from community to community and it is more of a personal choice.

Like we bring Ganesha into our homes for a period of time likewise we also bring Mother Mary into our house and this becomes a time for the loved ones and members of the community to take time off from their busy lives and come together. Like in Hinduism, a diya is lit throughout for Ganesha, a candle is lit in Christianity for Mother Mary.

There are so many stories, traditions and rituals that are interlinked throughout religions. We do not know the origin of these traditions but are aware of what is passed down to us from generation to generation. Every tradition is slightly changed as per convenience and acceptance of the period. We are all just humans worshiping a superior power.

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